The total corporate tax burden for companies in the Seoul region has increased by over 16.6 trillion won in the past five years, a figure 8.5 times greater than the increase in non-Seoul regions. This concentration of tax revenue in the capital area has raised concerns about widening disparities in the tax base across regions.
According to data submitted by Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Tae-ho to the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee on October 22, the total corporate tax burden for Seoul region companies rose from 39.9585 trillion won in 2020 to 56.6060 trillion won in 2025, an increase of 16.6475 trillion won (41.7%). In contrast, non-Seoul regions saw an increase of only 1.9525 trillion won (14.3%), growing from 13.6129 trillion won to 15.5654 trillion won during the same period. The increase in the Seoul region is 8.5 times that of non-Seoul regions.
The total corporate tax burden nationwide increased from 53.5714 trillion won in 2020 to 72.1714 trillion won in 2025, a rise of 18.6 trillion won (34.7%). Of this increase, 89.5% occurred in the Seoul region. The share of the total corporate tax burden attributed to the Seoul region also rose from 74.6% in 2020 to 78.4% in 2025, an increase of 3.8 percentage points.
The concentration of corporations in the Seoul region is also notable. Of the 1,086,503 corporations filing taxes nationwide in 2025, 661,097 (60.8%) were located in the Seoul region. This represents a 1.1 percentage point increase from 59.7% in 2020. During the same period, the total number of corporations nationwide increased by 29.7%, while the number in the Seoul region grew by 32.2%, surpassing the 25.9% increase in non-Seoul regions.
The gap between the proportion of corporations and the share of corporate tax burden has also widened. The difference increased from 14.9 percentage points in 2020 to 17.6 percentage points in 2025, indicating that corporations in the Seoul region are contributing a larger share of the tax burden than their proportion of the total number of corporations.
In 2025, there were 316,350 corporations in Seoul, accounting for 29.1% of the total nationwide, yet they contributed 38.1036 trillion won, or 52.8% of the total corporate tax burden. Compared to 2020, the number of corporations in Seoul increased by 21.9%, while the total corporate tax burden rose by 39.6%.
Conversely, some non-Seoul regions experienced an increase in the number of corporations but a decrease in total corporate tax burden. For instance, Sejong saw a 46.5% increase in the number of corporations from 2020 to 2025, yet the total corporate tax burden decreased by 2.5%. Similarly, North Gyeongsang and Jeju reported increases of 22.1% and 22.2% in the number of corporations, respectively, but their corporate tax burdens fell by 3.2% and 3.5%. In Gwangju, while the number of corporations increased by 21.9%, the total corporate tax burden remained virtually unchanged, rising from 8.311 billion won to 8.313 billion won.
Jeong Tae-ho emphasized the need to closely examine the trend of tax bases concentrating in the Seoul region, stating, "Regional balanced development should not be limited to merely increasing the number of companies. We must ensure that high-value-added companies, headquarters functions, and tax bases can take root in the regions through effective policy outcomes and direction."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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